


concrete jungle

by Chaosandthecalm



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Co-workers, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2018-12-12 00:01:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaosandthecalm/pseuds/Chaosandthecalm
Summary: Connor Stevens is the son of a publishing mogul and runs a magazine publishing company. Jude is an IT expert who has a strange fascination with his new boss.





	1. Chapter 1

Monday mornings were always hectic for Jude. He looked down at the old watch on his wrist. It had been his grandfathers. The brown leather band was worn and the face was scathed and dingy, but he still wore it every single day. 

“Shit…” he muttered. It was already ten past eight. He was late. He was always late on Monday. The train lurched and he grabbed onto the pole in front of him tighter. The last thing he needed was to fall over on his ass. 

By the time he made it to his stop he had three minutes to make it to the office. He cursed again and rushed through the crowd, taking the stairs three at a time. His thighs were burning by the time he made it into his building, the early morning crowd still trickling in. He waved his ID badge over the security scanners and nodded hello to the guards who just shook their heads at him. 

“You’re late Jude.” Victor, the guard who was always on duty on Monday said, his voice amused. Jude laughed, breathless, and kept walking. His office was on the fifth floor, along with the rest of the IT department. He contemplated just taking the stairs but the muscles in his legs protested that idea immediately. There was were a couple of stragglers waiting for the elevators and Jude joined them, trying not to look at his watch again. Knowing how late he was wouldn’t make him less late. 

***

Jude walked into his office, trying to appear casual. 

“Jude-.”

“Yes, I know; you don’t have to tell me.” 

His boss, Christian, remained silent, eyeing him over the rim of his coffee. Probably his third of the day already. 

“You know if I was anyone else I would’ve fired you by now.” He said, his voice light. Jude just laughed.

“How exactly would you manage without me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Christian rolled his eyes and took another sip of coffee.

“Whatever.” 

Christian had become the head of the IT department last year, after the old head retired. He had been in his sixties and knew next to nothing about computers but kept up the charade by hiring programming majors straight out of college. Jude had been grateful for the opportunity and had accepted right away. Now he was stuck fixing computers for older ladies in accounting all day.

“Oh, Marge wants you to come look at her station. She says it’s acting up again.”

Jude groaned, throwing his bag on his desk and slumping into his chair. He hated Mondays.

“She’s a liar. The last time I went up there she refused to tell me what was wrong with it. Just kept going on and on about her daughter who just finished nursing school.”

“Wow Jude. Must be tough having all these people trying to set you up with hot nurses.”

“Shut up.” 

“Testy. Make sure you have your reports in today by the way. Stevens wants them in his office before noon.” 

Jude dropped his head against his desk. 

“Stevens can shove it.” He mumbled. 

Their company was run by Adam Stevens, who owned fourteen companies throughout the United States. All of them in the field of publishing. Their building housed three magazine publications; fishing, fashion and cooking. This particular building was under the supervision of Adam’s oldest son, Connor Stevens. 

“You know, I wish my daddy owned half of Manhattan and gave me a six-figure job straight out of high school.”

“He went to Yale.”

“Of course he did.” 

Christian hid his knowing smile behind his coffee cup. Jude had made the mistake of telling him that there was an extremely attractive guy walking the floor when he first stated. That sentiment went straight out of the window when Stevens marched in and told Jude to dress more appropriately. 

“This is an office, not a frat house.” He had said, sneering at Jude’s Spider-man shirt. 

“Listen I think you should just bang him and get it out of your system.” Christian said, still smiling. Jude snorted.

“I’d rather marry Marge’s daughter.”

***

“You know Melissa has two cats. She takes such good care of them. Its’ her motherly instinct.” 

“Wow, that’s fantastic Marge.” Jude mumbled. He was on his back under the desk, fidling with the computer wires. Just as he had suspected nothing was actually wrong with the system. Still he had to at least pretend to do something or he would be back within the hour. 

“Alright Margie, you’re all set.”

“Already? You’re a genius Jude.” She said, her small hands gripping his arms as he crawled from under the desk. He smiled down at her.

“Make sure you tell Christian that.” He said, winking.

“Oh, I will. I’ll see you soon honey.” 

He waved as he left and prayed it wouldn’t be that soon.

***

“Come in.” 

Jude rolled his eyes at the haughty tone of voice. Connor Stevens had a corner office on the top floor of the building. His vast, dark mahogany desk was right in front of a wall of windows. The building glistened in the late morning sun as Jude walked in, reports clutched in his hand. Christian had insisted that he should be the one to take them up. 

“Good morning. I have the IT reports for you.” Jude said, waving the files in question. Connor glanced up from his computer and his eyebrows gathered in a frown.

“Shit.” 

Jude almost dropped the paperwork. Connor was known to almost robotic in his professionalism. Hearing him curse had the same effect as hearing it from your grandmother. 

“Sorry…I didn’t realize it was already the end of the month.” 

Jude blinked. He was starting to realize that something was off about Connor. His usually neat hair was messy, like he had been running his hands through it. His tie was off and hanging on the back of his chair, and there were deep set circles under his eyes. 

“Is everything...?” 

“Thank you, Jude. I’ll take those.” Connor interrupted, reaching a hand out for the files. It was somehow even more shocking hearing him say his name than it had been hearing him swear. Jude stumbled forward and placed the folders into Connor’s hand. 

“Well-I guess I’ll go now.” 

Connor was back to typing away on his computer, his eyebrows furrowed. Jude hesitated at the door, debating whether he should try asking if everything was aright again. Instead he left.

**

“Something is way off about him today.” 

Christian just hummed in response. Jude tapped his pen against his keyboard but it was still bugging him. Connor was always so on top of everything; walking around the office in his pressed slacks like he owned the place. Which, technically, he did. 

“I mean-have you ever seen him disheveled? I don’t think he even knows the meaning of the word disheveled.”

Christian finally sighed and looked up from his computer.

“Jude. If you’re so worried then go and ask him what’s wrong.”

“I can’t.”

“Then forget about it and move on.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jude spend the rest of the day actively trying to forget having seen Connor Stevens. Christian had come back from lunch with a cart full of outdated computers and told Jude to update all of them.

“Are you serious?” he asked, eyeing the piles of tangled keyboards.

“Yes, I’m serious. We’re donating them to a women’s shelter and they need to be able to actually use them.” 

Jude had groaned but started to slowly work through the mess. Two hours-and many sneezing fits- later there was a knock on the door. A tiny girl in an oversized gray blazer stepped into the office slowly, her eyes huge and blinking behind her glasses. 

“Can we help you?” Jude asked, glancing at Christian who hadn’t even looked away from his screen. 

The girl jumped as if she hadn’t realized there was someone behind the pile of old computers. 

“Oh, sorry. Yes, I hope so. I’m here on behalf of Mr. Stevens.” She said softly, her hands wringing in front of her. Jude’s eyebrows shot up. He waited for her to continue. 

“Well he asked me to come up and ask if you could spare someone for a few days. He’s working on a presentation and needs assistance with the IT side of things…” 

“Jude will go.” 

Jude spun around to stare at Christina who was finally looking at something other than his computer. He was smiling at Jude, hands folded under his chin.

“I will not.” 

“Oh yes, you will. He was just saying how frazzled Mr. Stevens seemed this morning. I’m sure he’s dying to help him out.” 

Jude could strangle him. He sighed and looked back the poor girl who looked like she would rather be anywhere else but there. 

“When does he need me?”

***

The next morning instead of pressing the number for his floor Jude pressed the button for Connor’s. The lit-up number seemed to taunt him. 

“Maybe I’ll just quit…” he muttered to himself as the elevator dinged. He stepped out and walked towards the office slowly. He was technically running late but the thought of spending the day with Connor made his feet drag. 

“You’re late.” Was the first thing out of Connor’s mouth when Jude finally knocked and walked into the office.

“Uh, yeah. The elevators here are really slow.” He mumbled, taking off his bag and looking around for a place to put it. He settled on tossing it into a leather chair in the corner. Connor glanced at it briefly but said nothing. He was looking through a stack of papers, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. 

“You can sit and relax for a while. I won’t be needing your help just yet.”

Jude resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Cool.” 

He sat down in the chair next to his bag and flipped it open, pulling out his laptop. He booted it up, the fan groaning. It was pretty old; his mom had bought it for him before his senior year of high school. But he was a computer genius, which didn’t exactly pay well, so he had just been updating it and tweaking things to keep it running. 

He took one more look at Connor, who was running his hands through his hair, making it stick up in the back. His screen blinked to life and he opened his service reports. He was always behind on them. Technically he was supposed to do a report every time he finished a service call but with the amount of calls they got it was impossible. 

He had just finished the latest one for one of the editing ladies who always seemed to have issue that could usually be solved with a simple restart when Connor turned to look at him.

“Ready?” he asked, voice clipped like Jude was the one who had made him wait. 

“Yeah, I’ve been ready.” He muttered, closing his computer and putting it back into his bag. Connor was looking at him, eyes sharp. Jude cleared his throat and stood up, coming closer. 

“So, what exactly am I going to be doing?” he asked, trying to avoid the steady gaze that he could practically feel. 

“I need to prepare a presentation for the heads of the company. I’m not really computer savvy though so I figured…”

“What like a PowerPoint?” Jude asked, his mouth twitching. Connor glared at him. 

“Even I could do that. I need to impress these people. It needs to be…perfect.” His eyebrows were drawn together and his mouth was a straight, tight line. Jude could feel the stress vibrating off of him.

“Ok I can do that. Just let me know what you need.” He said quickly. The faster they finished the faster he could get out of Connor’s office. Being that close to him was making Jude feel suffocated. There was clearly something going on with him. His shirt was wrinkled and the top button was undone. His tie was nowhere to be seen. 

“Is everything…alright?” he asked hesitantly. It wasn’t his place and the way Connor looked at him confirmed that. 

“Everything is fine.” He said simply, shoving a stack of papers at Jude. “That needs to be turned into a legible presentation. I’ve tried to highlight the most important points.” 

Jude flipped through the pages. There was a lot of highlighting.

“Right…so is there a computer I can use?” 

Connor looked confused for a moment, like he hadn’t realized that a computer presentation would require an actual computer. 

“Oh shit…” he mumbled, looking around the office. Jude almost snorted at the lost look on his face. It was the first time Connor had ever seemed lost. Also, it was the only time he had every looked his age. Jude knew he couldn’t be much older than him but he always seemed light years ahead, with his furrowed brows and dark suits.

“Listen I can go downstairs and grab one from storage. I’ll just need somewhere to set it up.” 

Connor nodded, looking around the office, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Jude felt his mouth twitching again and turned to leave. 

“I’ll be back.” He said, not turning to look at Connor.

**

“So, how’s it going?” Christian asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Jude just glared at him, taking the key for the storage room from its metal box on the wall. 

“I need to borrow a computer.”

Christian just hummed in response, going back to his work. Jude unlocked the storage room and stepped inside. It was freezing, as any room that stored computers usually was, and dark. He fumbled around looking for the light switch. He never came in here if he could help it. It looked like a computer graveyard. His fingers finally found it and he blinked against the sudden fluorescent lights. 

There were rows and rows of shelves, and those shelves were full of computers. Some of them new and still in their boxes and other so old that Jude wondered why they even bothered keeping them. He walked over to one of the brand-new ones. Connor needed a decent presentation and Jude needed a decent computer to make it. He picked up the box and walked out, leaving the door open. The key was still in the lock.

“Alright bye. Lock up the storage room.” He said, leaving the office without waiting for Christian’s response.

**

Connor looked up when Jude finally managed to make it back. He had been stopped by multiple older women whose computers he would be working on if it hadn’t been for his ‘special assignment’. 

“That was fast.” Connor said. He was standing behind his desk, leaning forward on his hands. The muscles in his forearms shifted and Jude looked away.

“Uh yeah…I figured the quicker we do this the better.” 

Connor raised an eyebrow and stood up straight, his arms crossing over his chest. His broad chest. Jude’s throat felt tight. 

“We’ll work on this until it’s perfect. No matter how long it takes.” 

Jude snorted, placing the computer box on the floor. There was a small desk in the corner of the room that hadn’t been there when he left. 

“This for me?” he asked, gesturing to it. Connor nodded.

“It’s the best I can do on short notice.” He said quietly, not looking at Jude. If Jude didn’t know any better he would say Connor was almost embarrassed. 

“No it’s great. Better than the one I have at home.” 

Connor looked at him, his expression carefully blank. 

“Let me set up then we can get started.”

**

Setting up computers was like breathing to Jude. It was natural and effortless. Attempting to understand what the hell Connor wanted from him was the complete opposite of that. Drowning maybe? 

“So, you want it bigger?” he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Connor was standing behind him, scowling at the screen.

“No, not bigger exactly. Bolder? It needs to make a statement.” 

Jude sighed then typed an exclamation mark after the title.

“Look, now it’s stating excitement!” 

The silence behind him was deafening. 

“Alright, fine.” 

“This is serious.” Connor voice was hard, like it was physically difficult for him to speak. Jude felt the back of his neck heating. 

“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

After a tense moment he heard a sigh behind him. When he turned to look Connor was leaning against the wall, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. 

“This is going to be a disaster.” 

Jude rolled his eyes. 

“Stop being such a downer. We literally just started. Not to mention isn’t this presentation for the board of directors or whatever? It’s run by your family. How bad could it be?”

Connor straightened up and looked at him. 

“That’s why it needs to be perfect.” He said, his tone hard once again. 

“So, let’s make it perfect then.” Jude mumbled, turning back to the screen.

**

When Jude finally left the office for the day it was dark outside and his eyes burned from staring at a computer for hours on end. He had muttered a goodbye when he left and was met with a tired grunt from Connor. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting when he came to work with him. Conversation maybe? Instead he got steely silences and clipped suggestions for the presentation. 

Jude rubbed a hand over his face and sighed at the thought of coming back the next day. Jude wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. It was the reason he went into IT in the first place. Working with machines seemed much easier than working with human beings. But sitting there in that office in silence with only the sound of the keyboard tapping was torture. 

“Hey Jude. You’re here late.” 

Jude looked up and smiled at Gloria, the night security guard as she greeted him.

“Yeah, working on a project with the boss man.” 

She raised her eyebrows, impressed.

“Not as fun as it sounds.” He said, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. His back was starting to ache from sitting in an uncomfortable chair all day. Maybe he would finally call that masseuse his mother kept emailing him about. 

“Well have a goodnight sweetheart.” She said, smiling and going back to her paperback. He waved and headed outside. He was trying not to think about the fact that Connor was still upstairs, working. He was also trying not to think why it bothered him so much.

**

Jude was woken up the next morning by his phone. He groaned and reached over to his bedside table, peering at the screen. He groaned and flopped back against his pillow before blindly answering.

“Hey mom.”

“Honey you sound exhausted.” 

Jude snorted.

“Maybe it’s because some crazy woman called me at six in the morning.”

“Well sorry for checking up on my son!” 

Jude sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Thank you for the concern mother, but we literally spoke three days ago.”

“You don’t think it’s strange that you only speak to your mother every three days?”

“I think it’s weird that I speak to my mother at all. I’m in my twenties.”

She huffed into the phone and Jude could picture her standing in the kitchen, jogging gear on and blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.

“How’s mama?” he asked, closing his eyes. He knew once she got started on her favorite topic she didn’t exactly need him to participate. 

“She’s great. She misses you. So do I, even though you apparently don’t love me anymore.”

“Alright drama queen. If I promise to come home next weekend will you let me get some more sleep please?”

“Fine.” She said, sounding defeated.

“I love you.” He said before hanging up. He sighed and let the phone fall onto the bed beside him. He wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep and he knew it. His brain was already awake and it took him hours to get it to quiet down. He took a deep breath and sat up. 

**

After a longer than usual shower he grabbed two granola bars from the kitchen before heading out. He was actually early for once and he took his time getting to work. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to another awkward day with Connor Stevens.

When he made it upstairs he was met with the mousy girl who had put him into this predicament. She was sitting behind a huge, dark desk in front of the door to Connor’s office. His assistant then.

“Hey! It’s you.” He said, smiling down at her. Her big eyes looked up at him and she smiled shakily. 

“Good morning. Mr. Stevens is running a little late.” She said quietly. Her hands were twitching on top of the desk, like she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

“That’s alright. I can just catch up on some work if you don’t mind hanging out with me for a bit.” He said, smiling again. Her face turned slightly pinker and she vaguely gestured to a row of chairs across from her desk. He nodded and sat down, pulling out his laptop. 

It was another thirty minutes before the elevator dinged and Connor stepped out. He looked even more tired than the day before. His suit jacket was already off and in his hand but the rest of his clothes were still pristine. Jude glanced down at his hoodie and dark jeans and squirmed in his seat. 

“You’re here.” Connor said, gesturing for Jude to follow him.

“Well yeah. Do I have a choice?” he asked lightly. Connor glanced back at him, frowning.

“You could choose not to have a job.”

“I was kidding. Don’t fire me.” 

Connor huffed and Jude could have sworn it was almost a laugh. When Connor turned toward him after placing his jacket on the back of his chair the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up. He was almost smiling. At Jude.

“Relax. I’ll let you get settled in. I have a few things I need to look over before we get started.”

“Yes, sir!” Jude said, saluting him before sitting down at the makeshift station. Connor blinked at him before giving him another of those tiny almost smiles. Jude felt his face getting hotter. Jesus, he was worse than the mousy assistant girl. 

Connor sat down at his desk and powered on his computer, his frown back in place. Jude watched him for a second before turning back to his own screen. He needed to remember that Connor was not a nice person. He was cold and awkward and…

“Want some coffee?” 

Jude glanced up. Connor was looking at him expectantly. 

“Me?” 

Connor let out a soft laugh. Jude wished that the floor would open up and swallow him.

“Well unless the office is haunted I’m pretty sure you’re the only other person here.” 

“It could be. You never know. Have you ever felt any presences? Cold spots?”

Connor tilted his head and looked at him, clearly amused. 

“I wish. I talk to myself a lot so it would make me feel a lot saner if I knew someone was listening.” 

“Yeah cause ghosts definitely hang around this realm to listen to some executive rambling on about publishing.” 

Connor’s face went blank for a second and Jude looked away. He cursed himself silently. 

“Yeah even I don’t want to listen to it and I am the executive.” 

Jude looked at Connor again and found him smiling that tiny smile. It made him looked younger. A laugh bubbled out of him and Connor’s smile widened.

“You’re in a good mood today.” Jude said, mentally slapping himself. He was pushing it. 

“Well, I figured if we’re going to be stuck here doing this for a few days it might be better if we actually talked.” 

They paused for a moment, and Jude had to look away. This was not good. He started to miss the cold silences of the previous day. This person was not the same man he had seen around the building hundreds of times. The stuffy and always serious man who made Jude feel inferior by just being in the same room. 

“So, coffee?” 

Jude’s head jerked up and he realized he had just been sitting there, staring at nothing.

“Oh, yeah that would be great.” He said quickly, looking back at his screen. He pretended to be focusing on something, his brows furrowed in concentration. Connor picked up the phone on his desk and called his assistant, asking for two coffees and snacks. Jude fingers played with the mouse. He wanted to look at Connor again. Wanted to see if his face was back to its regular stony expression of if was still that relaxed, almost happy one he had when he was talking to Jude. 

Finally, he couldn’t resist and glanced up. Connor was back to looking at his work, his fingers flying across the keyboard. His face was set in concentration, his brows furrowed and his mouth pressed into a straight line. He looked the way he usually did and Jude almost convinced himself that he had imagined the entire conversation until Connor looked over at him and smiled. 

Shit.

**

After they got their coffee from Connor’s assistant, whose name was Meredith apparently, they settled behind Jude’s computer with their piles of notes. Jude took a sip from his cup.

“So, I came up with something for the opening, let me know what you think.” He said, pressing play. The presentation started up, graphics flashing across the screen. Connor watched with the same concentration that he had when he was working. His index finger was resting against his bottom lip. When he wasn’t frowning it was full and pink. Jude blinked and turned away. 

“It’s good so far, but I’m not crazy about the colors.” 

“That’s an easy fix. What colors were you thinking?” 

Connor leaned forward to look at the color palette that Jude had opened, his shoulder pressing into Jude’s as he scanned the different options. Jude focused on keeping his breathing even. He was trying not to focus on how warm and solid Connor felt against him, or how good he smelled. Jesus, he needed to get the hell out of there. Connor finally leaned back after what felt like ten years.

“I think I like the second one from the right in the first row for the font. It’ll stand out but it’s not too flashy. What do you think?” 

Jude’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. 

“Yeah, great. Good choice.” He said quickly, subtly shifting further away from Connor and clicking on the color he chose. The font changed and Connor hummed, clearly satisfied. 

After four hours Connor had stood up and stretched, groaning softly and told Jude he could break for lunch. Jude could barely mumble a quick ‘see ya’ before practically running out of the office. His hands were sweating as he fumbled around for his phone. He dialed Christian’s number and waited. 

“Still alive?” Christian asked, answering after two rings.

“Fucking barely. I’m dying.” Jude said, looking around the hallway to make sure nobody was within hearing range. 

“Don’t be dramatic.” 

“I’m not being dramatic! He talked to me Christian. Like a normal human man. And he smiled and sat close and god he smelled so good…”

“Jude, come down here right now.”

**

Christian didn’t let him say anything until he had placed a sandwich in front of him and ordered him to eat. Christian was always making sure Jude ate something after he had passed out one day. He just tended to forget things when he was working. He took a bite and swallowed, his throat feeling dry.

“You can’t be in love with our boss.” Christian said, taking a bite of his own sandwich. Jude choked, slapping his own chest. 

“In love?! Are you insane? He’s a corporate robot who only got his job because of his daddy. Which makes the fact that I think he’s hot as fuck even worse!” 

Christian raised his eyebrows and waited. Jude sighed and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes until he saw white. 

“He’s just…different today? I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s like aliens took over his body or something.”

“Or maybe he’s just trying to be nice?” 

“Why? He already owns the entire damn building. Me included. He doesn’t need to be nice.” 

Christian shrugged.

“Or it could be aliens. You never know.”

“You are not very helpful.”

“See the little sign on my desk? It says, ‘head of IT’ not ‘Jude’s personal therapist’.”

Jude glared at him. 

“The next time you come to me with love problems I will be just as unhelpful as you are right now.”

“Aha, so it is love.”

Jude just flipped him off and shoved half of his sandwich into his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> I have no idea if anyone is still interested in this story or not but here's hoping! I feel like I've been going MIA a lot and I apologize. But this time it's for a good reason! I had a bit of health scare and ended up in the hospital. I was out of commission for almost a month so I ended up losing my job as well. It's ok though because I'm feeling better now and I'm making writing my number one priority once again! 
> 
> Thank you for everyone who is patient with me and actually reads this. I truly appreciate every single one of you and I wouldn't be able to do this without you guys.
> 
> Much love!


	3. Chapter 3

After lunch Jude took him time going back upstairs. On the way he managed to convince himself that everything that happened that morning had been a fluke. Connor was even being that nice. And he wasn’t all that attractive. Sure, his arms were all muscled and his eyes were amazing and he smelled incredible…

Jude groaned and leaned his head back against the wall of the elevator. This was not good.

**

He knocked softly before stepping into the office. The room was bright with the afternoon sun. Connor was standing behind his desk, his back to Jude. His shoulders were set in a tense line and when Jude muttered a quiet greeting there was no response. He made his way over to his desk, dropping his bag on the chair. Connor twitched and glanced over like he had just realized that he wasn’t alone. His face was back to its usual frown, eyebrows drawn together.

“Sorry. You can get to work.” Connor said. His tone wasn’t as harsh as usual but the friendliness from earlier was gone. Jude felt the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly it really had been a fluke. No way Connor Stevens was actually going to be nice to him. Or to anyone for that matter. Why did he think he was special?

He sat down behind the computer and continued the work they had started earlier. Importing data was the most boring part of his job but it made the time pass by quickly and Jude didn’t really mind it. He was good at zoning out and getting everything done. And it helped distract him from the deafening silence from Connor. They worked for the rest of the day, mumbling a few words between them when Jude needed to confirm something. Finally, when it was time to leave Jude muttered a quick goodbye and received a nod and an affirmative hum in response. 

On his way out, he opened his messages and clicked on Christian’s number.

_False alarm. He’s still a dick._

**

Weekday nights were Jude’s least favorite thing in the world. He couldn’t go out because he had to be at work and staying up late in general was a bad idea. Nothing made you realize how exhausted you were more than looking at a computer screen all day. So instead he would sit on the couch and debate on what he could do that wouldn’t use up too much time or energy. Mostly he would end up scrolling through some internet bullshit on his phone or re watching TV shows he’s already seen a hundred times. 

“Maybe I should get a cat…” he said quietly, clicking through his options on Netflix. Everything seemed dull. Not worth his time. He groaned and let the remote drop on the couch beside him. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to the beginning of his day. He tried not to think about Connor but it was impossible. All his brain would let him think about was those few tiny smiles he got. The short bursts of breathy laughter. He wondered what Connor was like when he was completely relaxed. When he let himself just laugh and smile openly. No frown and no storm cloud over his head. 

Jude sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was tired. Not tired enough to go to bed but tired enough that the thought of doing anything else was out of the question. He pulled out his phone and opened Facebook. He hated Facebook. It was full of people from high school posting about their kids or some political bullshit. Jude scrolled past his mom’s shared videos of kittens and paused. Curiosity got the best of him and he opened a new search. He typed in Connor’s name with self-conscious hesitation. He felt like someone was watching him, judging him. He huffed and clicked search. Connor’s profile was the second from the top. Jude clicked on his picture and his stomach dropped. It was Connor in a loose white t-shirt, smiling brightly with his arm wrapped around a beautiful girl with blond hair. 

They looked perfect together. Like the ideal American couple. Jude’s hand clenched around his phone and he dropped it on the couch next to him. He didn’t’ know what he had been expecting. Of course, Connor had a beautiful girlfriend. Maybe it was even his fiancée. Jude wasn’t about to look to find out.

Giving up he sighed again and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

**

Getting up the next morning was a struggle. Now that Connor was back to his old cold self and Jude knew that he was definitely as boring and straight as he suspected the thought of spending all day with him was entirely unappealing. He spend too long in the shower and dressed in his old navy hoodie he’d had since high school and some dark jeans and headed out. 

As he walked into the building he glanced at his watch. He had three minutes to make it upstairs on time. He assumed Connor would be late so he took his time, stopping to chat with the security guards. When he finally stepped out of the elevator it was to the sight of Connor’s assistant looking frazzled, her hair coming out of its tight up do. 

“Oh, hello.” She said quickly, gathering piles of papers from her desk. “Mr. Stevens is waiting for you.” 

Jude smiled at her and took a deep breath. He stepped into the office and was met with Connor’s back again. It was rigid, and he was holding his phone to his ear. His jacket was off, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Jude raised a hand in greeting when Connor looked over at him and received a frown in return. He sighed quietly and went over to his desk, looking through his notes of what he needed to do that day. 

“Yes, I understand that but…” Connor was saying, his voice harsh. He raised a hand and ran it over his face. He seemed more tired than usual. Jude looked away and powered up his computer, opening the files he had been working on. He noticed more new post it notes stuck to his desk, with new ideas for the presentation. 

“Fine, do what you want.” Connor finally said, slamming the phone down. Jude jumped and tried not the look up. 

“You’re late.” 

Jude felt his hands shaking with anxiety.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry I snoozed one too many times.” He mumbled without looking away from the computer. He could feel Connor’s eyes on him.

“Were you out partying or something?” 

Jude blinked and looked at Connor. He was leaning back against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. Jude focused on his face, so he wouldn’t look at his wide shoulders.

“No. I’m not really the partying time.” 

“Ah…so what do you do?” 

Jude’s mouth opened and clicked shut. Was Connor trying to get to know him? Or was this some weird power move?

“I uh…stay in mostly. Watch movies and read.” 

Connor nodded, glancing away and out the window. Jude allowed himself to stare at his profile for a minute. His nose was a straight line and his jaw was strong. Jude followed the line of his neck down to his chest, where two of his shirt buttons were undone, exposing a part of his tan chest. Connor looked back at him and Jude looked away quickly, his face burning. 

“Fuck this. Let’s go get breakfast.” 

Jude’s eyes widened, “Huh?”

“Breakfast? The most important meal of the day?” Connor said, grabbing his jacket off of the back of his chair. Jude stood up, still confused as hell. Connor nodded toward the door and Jude followed him out. 

**

“So, you do know that you work in a corporate office right?” Connor said as they walked down the street to the diner on the corner. 

“What?”

Connor smirked and looked Jude up and down.

“The clothes? Most people at least make some sort of effort.”

Jude’s face felt hot as he focused on the sidewalk in front of him.

“Yeah well…I’m not exactly an executive. Plus, the only people I interact with is the little old ladies in accounting. The last thing I need is them ogling me in a suit.”

Connor snorted and raised a hand to run it through his hair. Jude followed the action with his eyes. Connor’s hair was thick and light brown. He clearly used product but every time he ran his fingers through it the strands would get messier and softer looking. Connor glanced over and Jude flushed. 

“At least buy a nice shirt and a tie man. Those hoodies aren’t doing you any favors.” Connor said. Jude turned to speak but they had reached their destination. Connor stepped forward and pulled the door open, motioning for Jude to enter first. 

**

“Can I ask you something? Off the record?”

“Off the record? What am I being interviewed?” Connor asked, looking across the booth at Jude, his mouth quirked upwards. Jude huffed, his fingers moving across the plastic menu.

“No, I just mean…I just don’t want to get fired alright?” 

Connor laughed and leaned back.’

“Alright fine. Off the record.”

“What’s with the mood swings? I mean one minute you’re being all nice and the next I feel like I need to tiptoe around you.” It rushed out of Jude before he could stop himself. His heart was hammering against his chest. Connor’s face hardened, his eyebrows coming together. Just then the waitress came to the table to take their order. Connor smiled at her and winked when she giggled, and Jude looked down at the table. 

“Alright loves, I’ll get that right out for you.” 

“Thank you.” Connor said, handing the menus back with another smile. The girl took them, her face bright red.

“Mood swings.” Connor said quietly, still not looking at Jude. 

“I didn’t mean…”

“Do you know how old I am?” Connor asked, looking at him. Jude felt the urge to look away. Or run away. Or quit his job and move to a different state.

“Uh…thirty-two?” 

Connor’s mouth twitched into a smile that looked more like a scowl.

“I’m twenty-six.”

Jude’s shoulders dropped. 

“Holy shit.”

“My father gave me an entire company to run straight out of college. A company that was failing. He knew that when he handed it over. Publishing is a dying industry Jude. My father didn’t want to be responsible for the failure, the hundreds of people that would lose their jobs. Instead he unloaded it on me. So that when it did fail, he could say it was because of his inexperienced son.”

Jude didn’t know what to say. 

“Every day I get phone calls from investors and advertisers who want to know the status of our company and I have no idea what to tell them. Now I have to present what I’ve done over the past year to my father and if I show even a slight decrease in profit he’ll shut it all down. Do you get what I’m saying Jude?”

“Asshole.”

Connor blinked, his eyes widening.

“Your dad. He’s an asshole. Why would he do that to his own kid?” Jude could feel his voice raising but he couldn’t help it. He was angry. Connor started to laugh, sounding almost surprised.

“Business first, family second. That was always his philosophy.”

Jude’s hands clenched. 

“One thing Jude…don’t tell anyone. Not even Christian. This is between you and me.” Connor’s face was so serious that all Jude could do was nod. The waitress walked up with her arms full of plates and Connor reached over to help her out. They ate in tense silence, Jude’s mind going a million miles a minute.

“I’ll do my best. With the presentation.” He finally said, after their table had been cleared. Connor looked over him, gaze intense and fixed on Jude. 

“Good.” Connor said simply, smiling that bright smile that Jude had seen the night before in his Facebook picture.

**

They walked back to the office in silence. It wasn’t tense or awkward, but Jude felt the urge to say something. Say anything. Connor was only a year older than him and he had the future of an entire company on his shoulders. All Jude had to worry about was what kind of Hot Pocket he would have for dinner that night. 

“Hey…” he said quietly, stopping and touching Connor’s elbow softly. Connor stopped as well, turning to look at him.

“I’m sorry…if I was ever a dick to you. I guess I thought…”

“Yeah I know what you thought. It’s what everyone thinks. I got handed this great job and I’m living it up.” Connor said, smiling. Jude’s fingers were still resting gently against Connor’s arm and he dropped his hand. 

“I’m serious…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m the one who should be apologizing.” 

Jude opened his mouth to protest but Connor continued.

“Whatever bullshit is going on with me I shouldn’t take it out on you…or Meredith.” 

“Who?”

“My assistant?” 

Jude felt like asshole all over again. He had been so focused on Connor that he had forgotten the poor girl’s name. 

“Let’s go get some work done.” Connor said, reaching out to touch Jude’s wrist. As his fingers pulled away Jude had to clench his hands to keep them from reaching out and grabbing hold of Connor’s hand.

**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I know this story is coming along really slow but I'm really trying I promise!  
> I'm still really struggling financially. I've been without a job fro almost three months and I'm behind on all of my bills. 
> 
> I know I'm not the greatest writer on here but if anyone would want a story written for a small donation I would be forever grateful!
> 
> $5.00 or less: A drabble with a pairing of you choice. Between 500 and 1500 words.  
> $6.00 - $10.00: A short story with the pairing of your choice. Between 1600 and 3000 words.  
> Anything over $10.00: A story with the pairing of you choice. Between 4000 and 10000 words.
> 
> My PayPal is chaosandthecalm@mail.com ! If you would like to buy a story just include your pairing and story idea (if you have one) in the notes of the payment and I can either email it to you personally or post it on here as a gift (in which case I need your username from here as well).
> 
> Thank you guys for always being so incredibly supportive of everything I've written! You have no idea how much all of the comments and kudos mean to me!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I have had quite the year and haven't been writing at all. Now everything has calmed down and to get my creative juices flowing I'm going back to jonnor. They're so easy to write for me and I hope there's still some people who want to read about them!


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